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Viagra has been around since 1998, and plenty of newer drugs have gone off-patent, lowering prices for patients, so why is Viagra only available as a brand name product in the United States? In short, it’s because the lawyers for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which makes Viagra, have been able to extend patent protection through the courts here, despite Viagra going off-patent in other countries.
Generic versions of erectile dysfunction drugs have long been available in countries like India, where blockbuster drugs are regularly reverse-engineered and sold locally at a fraction of the retail price (much to the chagrin of companies that spend millions of dollars developing new drugs). And generic versions of Viagra flooded markets in Europe a few years ago, drastically cutting prices Europeans pay to relieve erectile dysfunction. When will Americans have access to generics at home?
US Consumers Still Have Over a Year to Wait
The holiday season in 2017 might be a memorable one for Americans, since December 2017 is when the first generic alternative to Viagra is expected to become available here. Legally speaking, Pfizer could hold tight to its patent and refuse to allow any generic competition until 2020, when it’s patent protection finally runs out in the US. However, the company reached an agreement with generic drug manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals to market a generic version of Viagra, whose active ingredient is sildenafil citrate, in 2017. Another generic titan, Mylan, will apparently launch a generic version of Viagra in 2017, under another agreement with Pfizer.
These agreements are known as “pay-for-delay settlements,” in which generic manufacturers are paid by brand name pharmaceutical manufacturers to delay the introduction of generics. Pay-for-delay has attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because not only can it inconvenience purchasers of “lifestyle” drugs like Viagra, it can keep costs high for life-saving medications like those used to treat cancer.
Regardless of ethical concerns, pay-for-delay is real, and it’s really the only reason Americans will have access to any generic versions of Viagra before the year 2020. Teva has been selling generic Viagra in 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg versions in European Union (EU) countries for several years. Once they start selling it here, the company will pay Pfizer royalties through April 2020, when the American Viagra patent finally expires. Several other generic manufacturers have filed applications with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for their versions of generic Viagra, but the status of these drugs and when they may become available has not yet been determined.
Generic Viagra Widely Available in EU Countries
Teva, it turns out, is one of several generic drug manufacturers offering products in EU countries. Pfizer’s patent on Viagra expired in many Western European countries in mid-2013, and multiple generic drug-makers were standing by, ready to put their less expensive competitors onto the European market. Teva, Mylan, and Actavis were the three biggest generic manufacturers to try to capture customers in the EU.
The impact on price was swift and dramatic. In the UK, for example, the price per tablet of Viagra fell from approximately £10 to around £1. As a result, the country’s National Health Service (NHS) started covering the cost of generic versions of Viagra. Before, only men who had erectile dysfunction as a side effect of illness (like diabetes or prostate cancer) could obtain the drug through NHS. Now, however, men who are OK with generic Viagra can be prescribed generics through the NHS. When this became an option, the number of prescriptions for sildenafil citrate (whether Viagra or a generic) rose from 1.2 million to 1.4 million, in a country with a population of 64 million.
Generic Viagra Also Available in Canada
Our neighbors to the north have also been able to enjoy the price relief of generic Viagra for a few years now. In 2012, even before Western European countries opened up to generic Viagra, Canada’s Supreme Court annulled Pfizer’s Canadian patent for Viagra. The reasoning behind the annulment was basically a legal technicality having to do with “full disclosure” and the language used in Pfizer’s Canadian patent. But the result was that Teva, once again, was ready to pounce, and started selling its version of the drug almost immediately. Pfizer was forced to lower its own price in order to remain relevant in the Canadian market.
Is It Easier to Fake Generics?
So why do Americans need to be wary of “generic Viagra”? Don’t generics have to jump through the same FDA hoops as brand name drugs? Yes, they do, but the real problem is with fake generics. Viagra, well before it went off-patent anywhere, became one of the most widely counterfeited drugs ever. Scam artists could easily and lucratively engage in their chicanery based on the fact that Viagra was expensive, was in high demand, and was something men weren’t exactly eager to ask their doctors for. Hence, the market was flooded with “little blue pills” that looked so much like the real thing that Pfizer scientists themselves often couldn’t tell the difference.
In other words, everyone knows what Viagra is supposed to look like since it has been widely advertised, and counterfeiters are still able to duplicate their look remarkably well. What about generics, though? Unless you’ve been to Canada or Europe and purchased generic Viagra there, you probably haven’t a clue what Teva’s version of the drug looks like, and that makes counterfeiting even easier.
So even though it’s always been a bad idea to purchase “generic Viagra” online in the United States, it may be an even worse idea now. Scam artists couldn’t care less about your health because all they’re after is your money. And if they can convince you that a pill is “generic Viagra,” they can separate you from your money, regardless of what ingredients are in the product.
And suppose you did manage to find a source of legitimate generic Viagra from another country that was willing to ship it to you here in the US. Well, that’s illegal. In fact, importing prescription drugs is illegal under all but a few very specific circumstances, none of which apply to generic Viagra.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could choose to inspect the package of so-called generic Viagra that was being sent to you, and you could find yourself in a difficult situation. At best, you could find yourself explaining to an overworked CBP agent that you were looking for a cheap fix for your erection problems, and that’s probably not something you’d want to have to do.
Price Relief on the Horizon; Meanwhile You Have Options
Until generics become available in late 2017, what can American men do to maximize their return on Viagra investment? For one thing, they can take their doctors seriously when they say to quit smoking, eat better, and exercise, because lifestyle changes can make a tremendous difference in erection quality, whether or not someone takes Viagra.
Additionally, men can maximize the convenience of obtaining name brand Viagra through medical facilitators like eDrugstore.com. eDrugstore.com, working with US-licensed pharmacists, dispenses name brand lifestyle drugs, including Viagra, at great prices, and with the convenience that can’t be beaten, so you can be confident you’re paying a competitive price while saving on time, the most valuable thing there is. We encourage you to educate yourself on erectile dysfunction, Viagra, and other treatments by browsing our blog for more information.
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